It took months of planning and two days -- April 15 and 16 -- to actually complete the eight operations. Four kidney removals from donors, and four kidney transplants made up the chain of operations.

It started with what doctors call the altruistic donor. A young man, Andrew Rose, who read online about kidney donation and called the UPMC Transplant Institute.

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"It seemed to make sense," Rose said. He added that none of his family members had kidney disease, so he was free to donate to someone who would be a match.

One of the transplant surgeons, Dr. Amit Tevar, said it is a beautiful example of sacrifice.

"This is a remarkable young man with no desire to gain anything. He wanted to help out anyone who needed a kidney transplant."

Rose's recipient was going to get a kidney from a sister, but when Rose stepped up, the sister then became part of the chain, and donated to another match. Then the chain begins.

It works like this When a person with kidney disease does not have a family member who is a match, if one of the family donates to someone outside the family, the hospital then finds a match for that original, waiting recipient.

Before the two operation days, it takes months of testing, searching and coordinating.

Dr. Abhi Humar, director of the Transplant Institute, said, "It is a good illustration of dedication and the resources available at this place to be able to pull something like this off."

Louis Sorbo of New Castle, Pa.,was the last recipient at the end of the chain. He got the call on April 1st that a kidney was available -- a perfect match from a complete stranger. That stranger was Jeannette Muhl of Allison Park, Pa., whose kidney was not a match for her nephew. Her decision to donate to someone else enabled her nephew, James Weiss, to receive a donor from someone else in the chain.

"It is pretty amazing to think that there were eight of us involved in one transplant. It was mind-blowing that it happened in two days," Weiss said.